Face Down
by fearlessgurl283
Summary: The group exchanges weary glances but no one bothers to say anything anymore. They are beyond trying to convince her otherwise and too kind to tell him what he has known since the beginning...Post:The Western Air Temple. ONE-SHOT. Z/K


**Title**: Face Down  
**Word count**: _936!_ (quite long compared to my normal one-shots) **Rating**: T+ (implications)  
**Warnings**: _Zutara_, though it shouldn't get too dislikeable for people who do not prefer the pairing until the end…(I'd recommend just **reading** **up until the fourth or fifth part**, then; you'll still get enjoyment out of the piece without having to deal with increasing annoyance at the pairing—which doesn't actually appear obvious in the piece until after that XD)**  
****Notes**: Written for LJ user,** wohitzi**, who was the magnificent finder of a fic I had lost awhile ago and could never find again. XD Thank you. :3

* * *

**Face Down**

"_What will it take?" _

His voice is soft; her back turned to him as she cleans out the pot with her waterbending. He is still staring down into his uneaten porridge, which seems more like lumps of hard rock that were scraped from the bottom of the pot than anything. Sneaking a glance toward the others, he finds himself getting the worst meal out of the lot. _It figures._

She stiffens at his words but does not turn around or stop working, though her soft but deadly voice answering him is acknowledgement enough to the fact that she has heard him quite clearly.

"_Everything,"_

And she does not need to elaborate.

* * *

He does not need to turn around to know with crystal clarity that she is glaring at him, her stare cutting a hole across his back. Closing his eyes for a moment, he prays for patience and tries his hardest to not be distracted when he opens them again, his eyes focusing on the blue-arrowed boy in front of him.

"_What will it take?"_ He murmurs exasperatedly, resisting the urge to turn around and glare back at her. _You don't need to be here._

This is not even _near_ to their first training session, and still she watches closely, her eyes always upon_ him_.

"_My dead body,"_ She remarks back sharply, equally as soft. _Obviously I do._

* * *

The fire blast sets the massive beast on fire, effectively making her lose her balance and fly off, falling towards the ground like a stone. He does not think twice before lunging for her and somehow managing to grasp her hand, pulling her back up onto the bison once more. She does not say anything, does not even _look_ at him and he is just about to open his mouth when she answers, knowing what he is going to say even before he himself does.

"_Forever,"_

The group exchanges weary glances but no one bothers to say anything anymore. They are beyond trying to convince her otherwise and too kind to tell him what he has known since the beginning.

* * *

This time he is the one in trouble, the attacks from his sister coming faster and faster until he falters and she hits him square in the leg, his terrifying scream coming a moment before everything goes black.

_She_ is the first person he sees when he regains consciousness, her sky-colored eyes swimming above him.

"_A different past,"_

She is tired. _Of fighting, of this final battle, of things she cannot control_. She is tired of grudges from long past, tired of having to remember what she should have forgiven and forgotten long ago.

Her hands swirl the healing water into his wound and he closes his eyes once more, just as weary as she is.

* * *

He drops everything he has been holding and cringes instantly, waiting for her to berate him for ruining yet another thing she has carefully put together. It is her brother's wedding, after all, and without looking he knows he has just destroyed not only his Uncle's best teapot but also the ten best glasses that were to be set aside for the head table.

He quickly drops to the floor, mumbling how very sorry he is all the while, and tries pick up the shattered glass from amidst the thick carpet. _It is his fault for suggesting they host it in the Fire Nation, much less the royal palace. He cannot even imagine what he was thinking back then._

So he is surprised when he finds her on the floor with him without a word, her soft breathing strange in the wake of his fast-beating heart. Their gazes meet and she replies softly to his unspoken question, the one that has followed them through the years.

"_A new future,"_

* * *

Their quick breathing has merged into one and he pauses a moment to gaze at her sweaty face, glancing at the dark blue eyes and mouth that had both smoothed into silk somewhere along the line, the years melting away without notice.

She catches his gaze and euphoria explodes upon her face, her eyes dark with pleasure. She strokes a soft hand down his face, fingertips lightly brushing his scar, and he feels lightning streak through him upon her touch.

"_What will it take?"_ He asks huskily, bringing up the unspoken question for the first time in years. Her gaze turns to surprise and she answers breathlessly, her soft eyes full of memories from their shared past.

"_Two souls,"_

* * *

_This is not happening; it just cannot be happening_. But it _is_, and he grabs her hand forcefully, willing life into her. She gazes at him weakly and he can see the brokenness even in her eyes, stunning balls of light that used to capture him with strong emotion deep enough to fall into. She is fading fast now, and there is absolutely nothing he can do.

"What will it take?" He is crying now, her blessed water falling in streams past his eyes and upon her body broken beyond repair.

_He does not realize he is asking the same question he had asked so long ago…_

"Everything," Her voice is barely loud enough to decipher and it is not long before her body goes limp beneath him, falling onto the cold rock ground in slow motion. Her beautiful eyes have closed and for a minute he can almost fake himself into believing she is only a deep sleep and will wake again in time.

…_Until she offers the answer that has remained the same through all time._


End file.
